Book Review – Angelfall

“I shove the horrible, screaming images in my head into the dark, silent place in my mind that is getting deeper and more crowded each day. One day soon, the things I stuff in there will burst out and infect the rest of me. Maybe that will be the day the daughter becomes like the mother. Until then, I am still in control.”

GOODREADS SUMMARY:It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

REVIEW (SPOILER-FREE!):First, can I say I’m surprised this book is categorized as YA. It’s VERY gruesome and visceral. We’re talking people getting things sawed off and gnawed on. I didn’t realize going in that this was also advertised as a fantasy thriller, which it definitely is. It initially reminded me of Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (which I love), because it’s angels invading Earth, but it’s actually quite unique. I usually am not super drawn to angel and demon kind of books, but I’ve been reading more and more good ones that maybe my mind is changing!

So let’s break it down!

I’ll start with the characters, who were all around really fantastic! Penryn is a teenager in the middle of the angel apocalypse trying to care for her schizophrenic mother and wheelchair-bound young sister, when she witnesses an angel getting attacked which results in her sister being abducted by another angel. As a sidenote, I’d be curious if anyone who is more knowledgeable about Schizophrenia could say whether or not they thought it was a fair portrayal? Her mother is an intriguing character, but I don’t know how accurate or realistic she was. So if anyone has any thoughts, let me know! Back to Penryn, though. I thought she was an awesome character! She was independently strong and capable, and because of the circumstances of her life, was well-equipped to deal with the whole apocalypse situation. She was a great, badass, non-annoying, and interesting protagonist. What more could a girl ask for? Then there’s Raffe who I definitely dug. I’m here for Raffe. I am excited to see how their story develops in the next book. I also appreciated that there is no insta-love in this story. There’s certainly tension, and it’s very well written.

So many crazy things happen in this book. It’s just such a good story. It’ll keep you hooked!